Still Waters (Fight or Flight)
by pierceangelus
Summary: This is the story of Felicity as one of the main slayers. It will also feature Oliver dealing with this part of Felicity's life that she has kept hidden from him. Am not sure yet if Felicity will end up with Oliver as I am annoyed with him. It will also feature some of my fave Avengers and these pairings Buffy Summers/Steve Rogers and Faith Lehane/Clint Barton
1. Chapter 1 - Letting Go

Author's note: I do not own any of the characters from BTVS, Angel, Arrow, Avengers, Hang Time, The Flash, Roswell, NCIS LA, CSI, Chicago Fire, etc.

This story precedes from the premise that Felicity was called as a Slayer when Buffy died in the gift and will feature many of our fave characters. If you come across something that goes against canon, it is supposed to as this story features an alternate reality and is essentially how I wish some things could have gone.

Hope you enjoy reading it.

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><p>Time to tell me the truth<p>

To burden your mouth for what you say

No pieces of paper in the way

Cause I can't continue pretending to choose

These Opposite sides on which we fall

The loving you laters if at all

No right minds could wrong be, this many times

Leave unsaid unspoken

Eyes wide shut unopened

You and me

Always between the lines

Between the lines

My memory is cruel

I'm queen of attention to details

Defending intentions if he fails

Until now, he told me her name

It sounded familiar in a way

I could have sworn I'd heard him say it ten thousand times

If only I had been listening

Leave unsaid unspoken

Eyes wide shut unopened

You and me

Always between the lines

Between the lines

I thought I was ready to bleed

That we'd move from the shadows on the wall

And stand in the center of it all

Too late two choices to stay or too leave

Mine was easy to uncover

He'd already left with the other

So I've learned to listen through silence

Leave unsaid unspoken

Eyes wide shut unopened

You and me

Always between the lines

Between the lines

I tell myself all the words he surely meant to say

I'll talk until the conversation doesn't stay on

Wait for me I'm almost ready

When he meant let go

-Between the lines by Sara Bareilles-

It had been a long day... Felicity felt drained emotionally and physically. Dealing with the League of Shadows, helping Oliver keep Sara safe, finding out the truth regarding Thea's parentage, confronting Moira Queen about not telling them the truth and then finally having to telling Oliver the truth about his family. Gah! Who wouldn't feel this way?

Getting to her car and starting the engine, she made a note to pass by a store after she checked and saw how Oliver was doing at the Foundry. Maybe a pint of mint chip, her fave bottle of red wine and a nice soothing bubble bath was just what she needed to make all the stress go away. She was so lost in her thoughts that she almost missed answering her phone. Looking down she saw it was Willow calling and picked up. "Hey Wills, what's the what?"

On the other end of the line Willow laughed. "Faith seems to be rubbing off on you and Buffy, Felicity. Other than that you ok, sweetie? You seem really. tired."

"It's just been a really really long day Wills. I'll fill you in when we see one another. So spill, is there something brewing that I should be worried about?" She had to ask since it was a Tuesday after all.

"Sorry to hear you had such a long day Felicity and am even sorrier because your day is about to get even longer than it already is. Something big is about to go down in New York and we need you three to be there along with the rest of the scoobies and some of our more powerful allies as well."

Felicity sighed. "When do you need me? I just need to tie up a few loose ends here and then I can take the earliest flight out to New York."

An older and definitely British male voice replied. "I'm afraid we need you faster than that dear. Willow will arrange to teleport all of you in about two hours directly into our Manhattan Headquarters."

Felicity made a clucking sound as her tongue played with the roof of her mouth and quickly reassured him. "Hey Giles! Don't worry I'll be with you all in a bit. Hmmm looks a bit like we're going to war. God, it IS war isn't it? The usual, world ending, closing the Hellmouth, dire type of emergency?"

Chuckling, Giles interrupted Felicity. "Oh but when do our emergencies ever become not of the dire variety my dear?"

"Hahaha, funny funny you are not G-man. Anyway, I am just heading to Verdant to inform Oliver that I will be out of town and unreachable for awhile and should be ready at my apartment by the time Wills is ready to transport me."

They said their goodbyes and Felicity considered what she would tell Oliver. The timing sucked. Oliver needed her to be here but she did not really have much of a choice and he will have to understand that.

Opening the door to the Foundry she heard grunting sounds and was thinking that Oliver and possibly Sara decided to workout on the ladder since they had both been through a lot the past couple of days.

The sight that met her eyes as she went deeper into the lair was not something she expected and she just stood there staring and trying to process what she was seeing.

There was Oliver and Sara, having sex and it reminded her of Russia, except that this was so much worse. She felt cold and numb at the same time. It felt like someone pulled out her heart and twisted it.

For as long as she had lived, she doubted that she had ever experienced anything as painful as seeing the two of them doing what they were doing.

She tried to speak but no sound would come out.

Sara was the first to realize that they weren't alone and pulled away from Oliver, who looked confused until he saw Felicity.

Finally finding her voice Felicity spoke and tried to keep a smile plastered to her face as she did so. "Looks like Murphy has been quite busy. Of course he hasn't been as busy as the two of you but then rabbits tend to be quite busier than most of us."

Sarah put on Oliver's shirt while he got up and started walking to Felicity with an apologetic look on his face. "Felicity, this... this..."

Felicity looked into Oliver's eyes and help up her hand to make him stop talking. "Save it. I honestly don't care what sort of explanation you think you have that will make us Ok. You told me you could not be with anyone you could really care about because you did not want to risk losing them." Shaking her head and fighting back tears, Felicity continued. "You should have just been honest and told me that there was nothing between us but some skewed idea of friendship and partnership. I would have accepted it and I would have moved on."

Oliver, touched her arm and was surprised when she shoved him with a lot more strength than he ever even thought she had. Her eyes were cold and had an empty and vacant quality when she looked back at him. Where her eyes used to be so open and filled with love whenever she gazed at him, there was now nothing, like she had now chosen to close herself off from him.

"If you have enough sense, you will realize that going near me, let alone touching me are not going to help you. Making an effort to stay calm and drawing on whatever strength she had to keep the hurt at bay, she spoke. "Whatever you have, that's your business and you are both free and unattached, so why not, right? I am just your friend and your EA. The two of you have the bonus of history and not to mention Lian Yu. You have the right to be happy." Turning to Sara who looked miserable, she tried to reassure her that she wasn't blaming her for anything. "I sincerely wish you both every happiness in the world."

Looking back at Oliver she took a deep breath and cleared her mind to remember that she had more concerns than what she and he did not have. She thought of her sister slayers, Buffy and Faith as well as the rest of the Scoobies. She drew comfort in the idea that she would be with them soon despite whatever problems lay ahead of them. "That being said, I went here to tell you that something came up and I will be out of town for awhile to deal with things. Before you ask, it is not something any of you can help with and it is not something I can put off. I may not have access to my phone for some time but will find a way to check in with Dig as often as possible, so he knows I am Ok. I created a new program that will help you all on your Mirakuru hunt and Diggle already knows how to use it. Don't bother trying to track me down. You wont be able to find me."

She then turned and started walking away from the man she had loved and still loved more than anything else in the world and told herself that she would get through this.

Refusing to accept that Felicity was leaving, and also concerned that she had a problem, Oliver called out. "What do you mean something came up and where are you going? You can't just leave. We need you. I need you."

Felicity kept walking and her next words chilled him to the core. "You know what Oliver? That's really none of your business and you have zero chances of trying to convince me to stay. Bite me."


	2. Chapter 2 - Stillness

Author's Note: I still don't own the characters from BTVS, Angel, Arrow, The Flash, BATB, Roswell, Hang Time, CSI, NCIS LA, Chicago Fire, etc.

This story is AU so it will go against canon.

So it's better this way, I said

Having seen this place before

Where everything we say and do hurts us all the more

It's just that we stayed, too long in the same old sickly skin

I'm pulled down by the undertow

I never thought I could feel so low

Oh darkness I feel like letting go

If all of the strength and all of the courage

Come and lift me from this place

I know I could love you much better than this

Full of grace. Full of grace, my love.

-Full of Grace by Sarah Mclachlan-

Going back to her car Felicity willed her brain to stop thinking. She knew that thinking would make her accept the reality of what she saw and then the pain would claim her. She could not afford to give in to her sadness here and now.

She may be broken but no one else had to see that she was. She had given up so much of her pride because of how she felt and it was time to slowly take it back. Plus, she thought quite sardonically, crying would impair her sight and the last thing she needed was to cause a vehicular accident.

Maybe this is what an out of body experience felt like. It's like she is here but not quite here. The drive home was a blur and as soon as she got out of her car she walked to her unit, concentrating on breathing and focused on thinking, just a little bit more, just wait until you get inside. She could do this.

She called Diggle to tell him she had to deal with something out of town for a few weeks and not to worry.

She also called Queen Consolidated's Human Resources Manager to make sure someone would replace her as Oliver's Executive Assistant during her absence.

Opening her apartment, she used her back to push the door closed and did not open the lights. In the darkness she just slumped and slowly slid to the floor until she was sitting with her back against the door. She stared into the stillness with unseeing eyes and felt the damn holding back her tears break.

She remembered the first time Oliver asked for her help. She thought to herself, now THAT is what should be described as salty goodness. To say that he made quite an impression would have been an understatement. Even before he spoke , she had this feeling that her life would never be the same because of him and once he spoke, she became a babbling mess.

When he gave that excuse about his coffee shop being in a tough neighborhood to explain the bullet-riddled laptop, she thought, ok I guess we're not the only ones with secrets. Felicity then decided to help him and she decided to let him keep his secrets. Despite making that decision however, she could not stop herself from tilting her head to one side and raising an eyebrow to express her incredulity at his obvious and amateurish attempts to lie to her.

Since then he would drop by every now and then to ask for help. Unbeknownst to him, his ridiculous scenarios to explain why he needed her help became the highlight of her days.

When she found out him at the backseat of her car bleeding from a gunshot wound asking her not to bring him to a hospital but to the Foundry, she was terrified that he would die and called Willow to help him. Willow had no idea who he was to her other than her boss but helped him by healing him enough and removing the bullet so she could take him to the Foundry where she met Diggle.

She chose not to tell them that she was a Slayer or that Willow helped. At that time she and her friends were being hunted by those seeking to prevent them from rebuilding and changing the Watchers Council to what it is now. She also wanted to spare Oliver from more pain. Oliver had already gone through a five year hellish ordeal. She felt that he should not have to add her nightmares to his already heavy burden.

Concealing her identity as a Slayer. She used her other skills to help them in their mission to save Starling City.

The night that the Glades fell, she hurried to CNRI to save Laurel since Oliver might not get there in time, only to find his bestfriend, Tommy dying. Not wasting time, she called for Willow who teleported them to their Headquarters in Cleveland where Tommy was saved.

Presently there was no longer a bounty on them and the International Slayers and Watchers Council (ISWC) now had a powerful worldwide presence she had been mulling over the idea of sharing her secret with them in case she had to help them on the front lines if there were more super soldiers created by the Mirakuru. Remembering what she saw, she supposed there really is no need to tell them the truth now. Sara can help them and they also had Roy. It spared Giles from having to rub his glasses til it broke when he heard that she wanted to fight alongside the Arrow and meddle in Human Affairs.

She wasn't sure when she fell in love with him. All she knew was that he was intrinsically a good person with the capacity for greatness. She saw that he had so much capacity to love, if he would ever allow himself to truly love someone. Most of all she saw who Oliver was, just a man trying to do better and make a difference. She told him he was a hero because that was what he is. Unlike her, he could walk away from being the Arrow and live a normal life, but he chose to keep donning his hood to do what he could. The things he could do with a Salmon Ladder were a nice bonus of course. He wasn't perfect, obviously. He had come so far and yet, despite his restraint, he found himself repeating a pattern as far as his personal life was concerned.

More tears fell as she remembered his words after Russia. 'Because of the life that I lead, I think it's better to not be with someone that I could really care about.'

She remembered how he arrived to save her from the Count. That night he had told her that, there was no choice to make and that he would always do what needed to be done to protect her. While she could have saved herself she could not help but feel happy that he came to her aid. The idea that she was so important to him and she was someone she cared about filled her with so much warmth and giddiness. She had hoped that she was the one that he really wanted to be with and that he could really care about her.

Hope... Hope... was the reason today had caught her by surprise.

A genius IQ and yet her she was. She was so stupid, thinking Oliver could ever look at her and see someone he would consider being with her or let alone loving her the way she was.

Her shoulders shook as sobs racked her body. "Why couldn't he love me? Why not me?"

She let out a silent scream as the sorrow and agony came with the realization that all she had was an unrequited love. He would never see her as worthy of his love. She would never be enough for him.

In the back of her mind she knew that he only cared for her as a friend and nothing more. She needed to accept that and let him go so he could at least be happy.

She remembered Buffy telling her how she felt when she had to send Angel to hell in order to save the world. She knew that as broken as she felt, it did not come close to Buffy's anguish that night. Knowing that Buffy and even Angel had learned to move on from that heartbreak, she knew that if they could do it, in time she be ok.

She prayed that her heart could forget Oliver, that she would stop loving him. She no longer wanted pain and knew that if she kept on waiting for him to finally come around and choose her, heartache would be a constant companion, since he never would.

With that thought in mind, she wiped her tears, got up, opened the lights and began to prepare to go to their Manhattan HQ. She packed toiletries, her laptop, tablet, a few clothes that were suitable for slaying along with some shows. Her weapons were already concealed on her person through a spell Willow previously cast on all of them, which allowed them to summon them as needed. Xander winningly dubbed it, Willow's Highlander special.

After she took a shower, got dressed and removed any sign that she had cried, she was ready and entered the portal that appeared.

Stepping onto the other side of the portal, she found, Buffy and Faith who clasped her in a hug, reassuring her that she was not alone and that they would get her through this.

After they closed the Hellmouth below Sunnydale, the three of then, found that those that helped in that battle were all stronger, faster and able to heal faster. As it stood now, Buffy could take Glory and not even break a sweat. Faith and Felicity had grown almost as strong, stronger than all the other minis. Buffy, Faith and Felicity also found that they were somehow psychically connected and could sense how one another felt.

When they let go of one another, they knew that when they found the time, they would talk about what happened to Felicity and maybe veg out eating mint choco chip while helping her get over Oliver.

Looking around the room, she saw that just about everyone was present. The other Heads of the ISWC, namely Giles, Wills, Xander, Angel, Spike, Dawn and Oz were here, as were Riley, Sam, Graham, Liz, Fred, Julie, Cat, Caitlin, Ronnie, Vincent, Gunn, Connor, Wesley and even Tommy, who went to her and also hugged her. Whispering in her ear Tommy held her tight. "Should we grab a shovel and visit he who will not be named?"

Being here and hearing those words from Tommy, Felicity found herself shaking her head and chuckling. "Xander Lavelle Harris, what have you done to our Tommy?"

Running to hide behind Willow, Xander finally spoke. "Sorry L, it was bound to happen, Tommy is now a Scooby."

Pouting Felicity looked to Xander. "What!? I missed him doing the Snoopy dance?"

Xander places hands on hips and huffs indignantly. "Of course not!"

It was at that point that Felicity found herself laughing aloud as everyone in the room promptly did the Snoopy dance just for her. She was loved, they were all together and she knew that no matter what was ahead, she would be ok and she would heal. "Ok, Please tell me someone is filming this!"

Blushing, Giles was the first to stop dancing and recover his decorum. He promptly took of his glasses and started polishing it. "Yes, now after that moment which truly did not happen and will never be spoken of, how about we figure out what we need to do, to uh, slay the uhm a big bad prophecy." Giles surveyed the room and noted the slack jawed, stunned reaction to what he said. "Ah yes, I forgot, people who wear tweed are not supposed to understand how you youngsters talk, should I wheeze, hee haw and cough instead?"

Buffy then chose to spare her adoptive father from the spotlight and gathered everyone's attention. They had quite a war ahead but seeing everyone present, she knew that if anyone could face it and win, it would be them. "Let's allow Giles to get with the xplainy so we can sort this out and be of the good."


	3. Chapter 3 - The Gift

Author's Note: I still don't own the Arrow, BTVS, etc.

Again this is AU.

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><p>We were strangers, on a crazy adventure<p>

Never dreaming, how our dreams would come true

Now here we stand, unafraid of the future

At the beginning with you

-At The Beginning by Donna Lewis and Richard Marx-

One would be hard pressed to find a more motley crew than the one assembled at the ISWC's inner sanctum. People unaware of the fight against vampires, demons and the forces of darkness would dismiss them and refuse to believe just how much power their group possessed.

From the early beginnings of the Scooby gang, there now stood the three most powerful and oldest living Slayers, the most powerful witch in the world, a woman with the essence of Illyria, an ancient one, ensouled master vampires, the Destroyer, an alien enhanced human, a mystical key, werewolves who have fought off the influence of the moon, an army tactical unit, metahumans, geniuses, Slayerettes or Minis, new watchers, demon hunters and a few more 'assets' currently working on the field on assignment. These people seemed to have no common denominator or unifying factor, save one, Buffy Summers, the strongest among the Slayers who touched and changed each and every one of them and made them a family.

Though she died twice, there is no question that nobody else could have done all that she has done and continues to do for the world. Giles always thought it uncanny that this woman who never wanted power and influence had both in spades and wielded them better than any of her predecessors. Not perfect by any means, she made mistakes along the way but always did the best she could. Knowing what it meant to lead, she only asked that the people who chose to fight alongside her continue to live their lives, the kind of life that she had seemingly been denied because of her calling and that in any endeavor, they give their best against the knowledge that the fate of the world rested on their shoulders.

Angel once said that Buffy wore her heart on her sleeve for all the world to see and it made you want to shelter that heart. She effortlessly drew people to her cause and inspired them to go beyond the norm and repeatedly defy the impossible.

They had already come very far and still had a long way to go. What was it Robert Frost had said? "The woods are lovely, dark and deep but I have miles to go before I sleep." Going over the information he was about to share with them, he knew that there were indeed miles ahead of them and that no matter how difficult, they would need to rise above and save the world yet again.

-8-

I am a freedom fighter

The name that history wrote

And even through disaster

Eye of the tiger for hope

I'm trying to find my way back

There's no day off for heroes

And even when I'm tired

"Go" is the only word I know.

-It's On Again by Alicia Keys and Kendrick Lamar-

Ten years ago in Sunnydale, California

Glory has Dawn... Glory knows she's the Key. Those were the only thoughts swirling around her mind and while she knew she had to pull herself together and find a way to stop a Hell Goddess from opening a portal to her hell dimension, Buffy couldn't help but remember the last time she had to sacrifice someone she loved just to close a portal.

Giles looked worriedly at Buffy and tried to keep his voice as even as possible. "Buffy, if the portal should open..."

Buffy didn't even look up but replied "Giles, don't say it. I can't lose another person. I know Dawn really isn't my sister, but she was made from me and she feels like she belongs to me... I can't... I won't sacrifice another person. It almost killed me when I had to send Angel to hell to close Acathla's portal, I won't survive having to do the same thing to Dawn. That means we have to stop Glory before she opens it."

Buffy then addressed the rest of her friends and addressed them. "Willow, stay close to Tara, but don't crowd her. We'll follow in a minute. Everyone knows their jobs. Remember, the ritual starts, we all die. And I'll kill anyone who comes near Dawn." Gone was their friend and her place the Slayer was in control.

Gathering their weapons and everything else they needed. They allowed Tara to head out and Willow started tailing her.

Putting out his cigarette Spike started hand weapons to Giles so he could bag them. "Not exactly the St. Crispin's Day speech, was it?"

G

iles sardonically agreed with a small smile. "We few..."

To which Spike joined in. "We happy few...We band of buggered..."

They followed Tara into a construction site with a tower and a crane up above and Willow stood near Tara as the rest of the gang filled the frame where Tara stood.

Giles pointed to the scaffolding above. "The portal must open up there."

Taking in the area where they would need to stop Glory. Xander could not help but feel apprehensive blurted out, "Shpadoinkle." Pointing to the crane and moves toward it after squeezing Anya's hand in a comforting gesture. "Hey, check that out. I think I can work with that."

Buffy then gives a nod then turns to Willow. "Will, you're up."

Noting Willows hesitation Giles asked. "Need anything?"

Willow replied honestly. "Could use some courage ..." To which Spike in a show of support held out his flask of whiskey with a smile.

Willow could not stop the smile that curled up in the corner of her mouth but shook her head. "The real kind...but thanks."

Spike shrugged his shoulders and took a swig from his flask before putting it back in his pockets for safekeeping, then rolled his eyes at Willow, "That leaves more for me then, Red. Suit yourself."

A few moments later, crazies filled the center of the construction area. Moving in a frenzy, they gathered bricks, bars anything that they could use as weapons in defense of Glorificus, the one who put them in the brain sucked out state they were in.

Glory, spotting Tara, could not contain her surprise and addressed her minions, "What is she doing here?" She was so busy confronting her minions in order to find out who to punish that she missed as Willow, crackling with magic and energy appeared in between her and Tara and shoved her fingers into both their brains in order to weaken Glory and try to reverse the damage done to Tara. "She's with me!"

Seconds later Glory shrieks, falls to her knees seemingly consumed by the pain caused by Willow's magic. "What the frikkin' hell did that bitch do to me!?"

Noting the distress on the hell god's face, her minions scrambled to assure her that there was nothing amiss.

"You look fine! Truly!"

"Stylish and affordable! Or ..."

Glory takes a step, stumbles... "She made a little, she made a hole ... God I need a meal... I need a brain to eat -"

"Take mine, oh groove-tastic one -"

Rolling her eyes in annoyance Glory shakes her head. "I said a BRAIN, you worthless dirt! I got places to be! Big day... Need a brain" Turning slowly, she finally sees Buffy ... "Suppose I could always use yours."

Walking casually toward Glory Buffy pauses a step and says "Okay then. Come and get it."

As they circled one another Buffy notices that Glory was a tad unsteady. Glory and Buffy eyed one another. "You don't seem very well. Do you need to lie down and have a tonic?"

Glory stops, clutched her forehead and shakes her head to look at Buffy. "Your little witchbitch gave me kind of a headache there. And all it did was to kill her and her friend, so kudos to her! But if you think this is gonna last more than eight seconds..."

Smiling, Buffy tilts her head and walks casually toward Glory. "I notice that you're talking, whereas in your position I would attack me."

Glory, flabbergasted by the confidence displayed by Buffy and a bit worried that the Slayer could derail the ritual to open a portal to her home dimension ordered her minions. "Guard the Key! I can take care of hairdo here, it won't take long."

Twirling her hammer Buffy smiles. "You keep saying I'm nothing, I'm still not feeling attacked by 's strange ..."

Glory moved toward Buffy, then hesitates. Confusion crosses her face. She continues to move toward her, but slowly and with obvious effort.

Seeing this, Buffy gave a small laugh. "You're not as blurry with speed as usual, either." Producing the Dagon's Sphere from her back pocket. It might be this..."

Glory snarled at the sight of it.

Buffy continues. "I heard it was supposed to repel you. So my guess is that you probably shouldn't touch it." She the proceeded to toss it to Glory, who instinctively caught it - energy rippled from it, causing her to convulse with agony. A scream welled up inside Glory and crushes the sphere in her hand. Looking down, breathing hard, she looks up with murderous hate... "You're gonna wish-"

Buffy hits Glory right across her jaw causing her to fly back and hit the ground. Anger rebounds her up, only to meet a flurry of blows and kicks from the determined Slayer. She barely fends them off at first, then starts to get her own back, landing a couple of good blows.

As they fight, the minions gather the crazies to guard the stairway as well.

"Stand fast! Kill anyone who dares approach! This is our day of Glory!"

Giles, Spike and Anya all charged toward them. Anya swung her baseball bat and waded through the crazies with a warrior yell. Giles, fights by her side, defensively wielding his sword and reserved his killing thrusts for the minions. Spike, eager to get to Dawn, jumped over the whole defensive crazy line to land in the thick of the minions, in a whirling mass of just fists and fury.

Behind them, Willow blearily regains consciousness. She sat up with pain spiking in her head as she looked around. Finally seeing Tara, who is lying still, a few yards away. Willow dragged herself to Tara and tried to cradle her head. "Tara? Tara!"

Tara blinked awake and looked around her in dazed confusion until she finally focused on Willow's face. Willow looked at her, waiting for some sign of her mental state ...Tara's eyes filled with tears. "Willow... I got so lost ..."

Willow covers Tara's face with kisses and embraces her "I found you. I'll always find you..."

At the other side of the construction site, Buffy and Glory are still trading blows. Buffy swings a punch - and Glory catches it in her hand. "You know what? I am feeling a little better and now I'm a little bored."

She backhands Buffy hard, sending her staggering to the ground. "I'm sorry, you had a comment?" Though breathing hard from the fight, she's glee central as she turned away eager to start the ritual."

Buffy gets back on her feet and swung Olaf's hammer onto Glory's head, home run style. Glory falls back and smashed onto the nearest wall, dropping in a dazed heap. "You're not the brightest god in the heavens, are you?"

Hearing Dawn's screams, Buffy starts to go up the tower.

Glory shook off the blow and got to her feet. "Oh no you don't ..." She then whipped up from below, not at blurspeed, but faster than Buffy and grabbed her.

The two struggled but while Buffy held her own Glory eventually gained the upper hand and knocked the hammer out of Buffy's hand causing them both to plummet back down onto the construction site. They both land hard, Glory by a section of drywall, Buffy just beyond it.

Seeing both Glory and Buffy start to get to their feet Xander pushes a lever "Beautiful... hold that pose." As he sent a wrecking ball moving toward the pair.

Getting up and dusting her dress, Glory looked at Buffy. "You lost your hammer, sweetcheeks. What're you gonna hit me with now.?" She was so caught up in gloating, thinking she had already won that she missed seeing the wrecking ball that swung through a wall and knocked her all the way through another wall into an office where she landed in hellish pain and attendant crashing.

Seeing this, Xander moves away from the crane to aid the others. "And the glorified brick-layer picks up a spare."

Buffy, sending a smile at Xander's direction and answers Glory's question. "Whatever's handy." She then picked up the hammer and bounded through the hole after Glory.

-8-

Up above Dawn sees one of Glory's minions, the one called Doc and begins to plead for his help. "You... can you help me? Untie me please!"

Doc walked toward her. "Oh, sweet girl, I can do magic. Well she seems to be running late, is the thing. And if her splendidness isn't here to bleed you..."

Dawn's face paled.

Doc continued. "Yes, it's all coming together at last. Hey kid. Wanna see a trick?" Doc closed in on Dawn somewhat and pulled an antique pocket watch out of his pocket, looking at it, he drawls. "What do you know? Just about that time."

Tears flowed down Dawn's face as she screamed in pain. Doc is right in front of her, face near and grinning. As he proceeded to cut her while maniacally speaking. "Shallow cuts, shallow cuts...let the blood flow free..."

Time was running out on Dawn.

-8-

Down below, Buffy and Glory were still duking things out as Buffy hammer whipped Glory in the face, sending her smashing into a pile of crashy things. Glory whined. "This isn't fair."

Hearing this, Buffy paused. "I'm sorry. You want to rip apart the fabric of reality, destroy my world and kill my sister and now you're introducing the concept of fairness?"

Glory leaps at Buffy, swinging at her with a crowbar, slashing her neck and sending her reeling. Upon Glory's next swing, Buffy, now bleeding right below her neck, due to a nice good slash, blocked the crowbar with the hammer and kicked Glory away from her causing Glory to drop the crowbar which clatters to the ground.

In near tears, Glory continued her whining. "You're just a mortal... you couldn't understand my pain."

Buffy hits her with the hammer yet again and Glory staggers back again. "I guess I'll have to settle for causing it then"

Glory, now tried to frantically block and fend off the Slayer's blows "You can't kill me."

Not wavering and continuing to attack Glory, Buffy now knows that she could beat Glory. "No... but my arm's not even tired yet." Buffy continued to wail on Glory with the hammer. Glory's face is now bloody and she is dazed from excruciating pain. A blow sent her to her knees, an uppercut put her right on her back.

Glory, in pain and dealing with frustration, tried to get back to her feet. "Stop it!"

Buffy, giving no quarter, slammed the hammer into Glory's face. "You're a god make it stop." She then raised the hammer - which is now covered in Glory's blood and hits Glory back down onto the ground.

Glory, bloody and defeated and incapable of dealing with the amount of pain coming from her injuries morphed into her human vessel, Ben, who is equally battered. He looked pleadingly and helplessly at Buffy. "I'm sorry."

Buffy seeing that she had already won, dropped her hammer. "Tell her it's over. She missed her shot. She goes. She ever - EVER - comes near me and mine again..."

Ben, in relief, exclaimed "We won't. I swear."

A moment, and Buffy arose, eyes still on the boy. Then she turned and bolted toward Dawn.

-8-

Ben coughed and tried to sit up, with despair etched onto his eyes. He lay back down and laughed bitterly. Guess we're stuck with each other, huh baby?" Noticing that there is another figure looming over him. He squinted to see Giles, squatting over him.

Giles, seemingly trying to come to his aid. "Can you move?"

Ben, took deep breaths, trying desperately to cope with the pain that Glory's injuries were causing him, managed to croak out. "Need... a minute... She could have killed me."

Giles, looked at Ben. "No she couldn't. Never. And sooner or later, Glory will re-emerge and make Buffy pay for that mercy, and the world with her. Buffy even knows that, and still she wouldn't take a human life. Because she's a hero, you see. She's not like us." He then coldly clamped his hand over Ben's mouth and nose as Ben struggled feebly for a while. Then stops.

-8-

Buffy climbed up the tower and strode toward Doc. He turned and gracefully hurled the knife at Buffy's face. She bats it out of the way and reached Doc, similarly batting him aside as easily as she did the knife, all the while never breaking her stride on her way to Dawn.

Buffy untied Dawn. "I got you... You're gonna be okay."

Dawn sees the blood pooling out from her and dripping onto the air where it stopped some twenty feet down, clearly suspended by some mystical force. Another few drops join it and they begin to transform into a crackling ball of energy, white with power at the very center. "Oh God, Buffy!"

Buffy hurriedly starts dragging Dawn with her down the platform. Dawn resists and looks back onto the portal that is slowly getting larger.

The platform rumbled and shook, wind whipping both girls' hair. She cried and looked at her sister. "Buffy, I have to close the portal. It's started."

The portal continued to grow - and it shot out a lightning-like tentacle of energy that hits an intersection of the street - the street crumbled away into a fiery abyss. Another bolt comes from the portal and hits a nearby building transforming it into an alien looking structure.

Unearthly zombie creatures start to crawl out of it. They are white-faced and horrible, like the decaying corpses of things that were never human.

In reverence and shared lunacy, the crazies and the minions have all prostrated themselves on the ground.

Giles looked around, sees the light above him and feels the ground start to shake. He grabs the wall for support, fearing that the worst may have come to pass and they were too late.

-8-

I took my love and I took it down

I climbed a mountain and I turned around

And I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills

Well the landslide brought me down

-Landslide by Fleetwood MAC-

Buffy and Dawn see what's happening around them as another rumble causes them to almost fall off the platform.

Dawn, realizing that she will have to die to stop the world from being destroyed. Looks at Buffy. "I'm sorry."

Dawn made a break for it and tried to run back to the end of the platform. Buffy grabbed her, pulled her back and gets between her and the edge of the tower platform "What are you doing?"

Dawn struggled to get through to Buffy. "I can end this. I have to jump. The energy-"

Buffy, looked at Dawn. "It'll kill you!"

Dawn, with tears streaming down her face looked at Buffy. "I know. Buffy, I know about the ritual! I have to stop it. I have to! Look at what's happening!"

A rift opened and a huge dragon flew out from the portal, screaming as it circled and sailed past them.

Dawn continued to speak. "You have to let me go! Blood starts it, and until the blood stops flowing it'll never stop. You know you have to let me ... It has to have the blood ..."

Realization swept over Buffy's face... It's always blood. Summers blood. Dawn was made from me. Death is my gift.

The wind still raged as Buffy turned to look at the edge of the platform and sees the sun starting to rise above it. Buffy looked at the horizon, looking uncommonly serene. She turns to look back at Dawn.

Dawn knows without knowing. "Buffy... no ..."

Buffy, took Dawn's hands in hers and looks looks at her face. Listen to me! There's no time, Dawn, please listen. She brings Dawn close to her so she can speak in her ear..."Dawn listen to me. Listen. I love you. I'll always love you. But this is the work I have to do. Tell Angel, that i still love him and that I will always be his girl. Tell him, that I remember and that I never forgot. Tell Giles I... I figured it out. And I'm okay. Give my love to my friends. You have to take care of them now - you have to take care of each other. You all have to be strong. The hardest thing in this world is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me. Know that wherever I am my heart will always be with all of you." She wiped Dawn's tears away, taking the moment to memorize Dawn's face. Letting go, she then turned, runs toward the end of the platform and swan dived right out and down toward the portal. Buffy's body hits the portal and disappears in white light, causing energy to go even wilder hitting the creatures previously unleashed and destroying them.

As the smoke clears, the gang slowly come toward Buffy's lifeless body. Dawn, having climbed down, the farthest behind, Xander carried Anya, who looks out of danger, but is as stricken as the rest. Their faces registered stoic, humbled shock. Willow weeped openly. As does Spike, who stayed hidden from the encroaching sunlight, collapsing in wretched sobs at his failure, at the death of someone he loved. Giles comes the closest, standing over the body of his Slayer, refusing to believe that the daughter of his heart was no longer among the living.

BUFFY ANNE SUMMERS

1985-2004

BELOVED SISTER, DEVOTED FRIEND

SHE SAVED THE WORLD A LOT

-8-

I've never seen ten thousand angels cry

But I'm sure they did as they stood by

And watched the saviour die.

God turned his head away

He couldn't bear the sight

It must have looked like rain

When ten thousand angels cried.

-Ten Thousand Angels, Leann Rhimes-

Somewhere, two girls miles from one another are dreaming the same set of dreams with tears streaming down their faces.

They saw and felt everything, Buffy's fight with Glory, her choice and eventual sacrifice.

In a correctional facility somewhere in Los Angeles, California, Faith Lehane, abruptly woke up from her dream. She knew what her dream meant and even felt it as B finally breathed her last.

Tears kept raining from her eyes, falling unchecked. When she finally acknowledged that B was gone, she gave into her grief and sadness as her body convulsed with the sobs coursing through her body.

She cursed herself for not swallowing her pride and getting in touch with B earlier. Now she would never have the chance to make amends.

She had promised herself that she would make it up to B and fix their friendship as soon as she got out. She spent so much time being jealous and pushing B away. Now she dearly regretted each second that she did not see how much B tried to be her sister and friend. She cried for lost chances, regrets and the loss of her sister slayer. "I am so sorry B. I never had the chance to make it up to you and tell you how much I wanted to start over and be friends with you again."

-8-

Elsewhere, in one of MIT's dorm houses, 15 year old Felicity Smoak finally wakes from her nightmare and is left shaken as she recalled the blonde who died to save her sister. She has never met her or any of the people in her dream and yet the loss she felt at her death was very real. She had woken with tears streaming down her face and somehow her tears kept falling. Death was her gift!? What kind of a gift was that? The blonde in her dream was only a few years older than her and yet her eyes showed wisdom and experience that far belied her age.

In her dream, this girl saved the world and had apparently done so several times if her tombstone was to be believed. She questioned whether the events in her dream could have actually been real. While a small voice in her head whispered that none of it could possibly be true she could not help but feel that the events in her dream had truly come to pass.

Stranger things had happened after all. Looking at her best friends Liz and Fred, who were sleeping in twin beds across from hers she thought to herself, 'I mean, if aliens with crazy powers are real, why can't a few vampires and demons also be part of this world's crazy equation?'

She prayed that she wasn't going crazy. They did say that there was a thin line between genius and insanity and she hoped to God that her dreams did not signify that she had finally crossed over. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that the sound of her alarm, caused her to give a small shriek waking Liz and Fred.

Moving her had to the alarm clock, she hit the snooze button and caused both her clock and the side table to break. "What the!?"

Seeing Liz's and Fred's shocked faces. "Uhm, guys, I think we may have a small problem."


	4. Chapter 4 - A Call To Arms

A/N: Again, I do not own any of the characters or the shows that are mentioned in the story. Be kind, I do not have a beta reader and I am only doing this to get the story out of my head and as therapy for how Oliver has been lately. :) This Chapter is dedicated to the one who gave me a keyboard so typing using my iPad would not be so hard.

Please remember that this is AU, so if it conflicts with how the shows go, note that it is how I see or wish to see them.

Sorry it took so long. I am realizing everyday that it is not easy to write a story.

Hope you all like it.

* * *

><p>Witness to a city that never sleeps<br>Where sins are made then buried  
>Doesn't matter how deep or hidden<br>It's always, always there  
>Hold back the tears there's little reprieve<br>If you show you are weak  
>You're accepting defeat<br>Pick up the pieces and dust yourself off  
>Then banner away<br>-A Call To Arms by Urbandub-

Chapter Four - Call to arms

Liz, Fred, Caitlin, Cat and Julie, these were Felicity's best friends, closer than even sisters. Caitlin always called them sisters of the heart thicker than blood. True enough no matter the circumstances they met going through life, their friendship has thrived and endured beyond age, school and even their fleeting romances.

Cat and Julie were two of the most popular girls at The Masters School. Cat, a statuesque brunette and Julie, a gorgeous supermodel type blonde, were surprisingly kind and welcoming to Felicity. From their first meeting, they immediately became inseparable.

Like any typical boarding school Masters is mostly filled with wealthy students, Felicity was one of the rare exceptions. Her father abandoned them when she was four and her mother worked as a cocktail waitress in Las Vegas to support them. It was only by chance that Danny McCoy, the President of Operations for the Montecito noticed that Felicity had an affinity for computers when, at age seven she helped fixed the hotel's security feeds while waiting for her mom, Donna's shift to finish. From that day, Danny and his wife had made sure that she got tested and certified as an actual genius. They helped her apply to the best schools and one day, the Dean of Admission for Masters came to meet her and offered her a full ride to Masters. She started three years younger than her classmates and was more than a little overwhelmed by the boarding school. She never really understood what Cat and Julie saw in her the day they met and they took her under their wing. They helped her with the athletics part of school and taught her to play lacrosse and basketball. They even pushed her to join the fencing team when they saw that she had a natural grace that would be an asset while competing in the sport. Since her mom could not afford to travel to New York, she spent most of her breaks with Cat and Julie's families and Danny McCoy became her surrogate Uncle, attending events and ensuring that she wanted for nothing while she was studying.

It was because of these three people that Felicity finally knew what it meant to be valued and accepted for all that she was.

She enjoyed her years at Masters, the aeronautics program, meets and formals would forever be some of her favorite memories.

She graduated Valedictorian of her class and was accepted by several ivy league universities but she fell in love with MIT

At first she was apprehensive since Cat and Julie both decided to go to Harvard but any fear she had that their friendship would die or that her friends would abandon her, vanished when both Julie and Cat came knocking on her dorm room and insisted that they have an unbreakable Saturday night movie marathon tradition.

Felicity met Fred, Liz and Caitlin at M.I.T. and in them she found kindred spirits. Though they were pursuing different degrees and were interested in other fields of study, they found many things they had in common. All of them were MENSA smart and were all several years younger than their peers, except Liz, who was already married and divorced at eighteen and thus started college later than them. Physically they were all petite in stature with Felicity being the only blonde among the brunettes. They also became friends with Cat and Julie so they had an amazing sisterhood that saw them through assignments, exams, heartbreak and even loss.

Fred, Liz and Caitlin shared a room at the Fenway House, one of M.I.T.'s Independent Living Groups, until Caitlin moved in with her fiancé Ronnie in an apartment along Harvard Square. Julie and Cat, both sorority girls lived at the Kappa Alpha Theta House. Through Ronnie, they met and sort of became friends with Cisco, Ronnie's best bud.

Felicity's college years flew by. She only had one serious relationship and they were together during her freshman year, until her boyfriend, Cooper Seldon passed away and it was through their sisterhood that Felicity was able to deal with his death and the events surrounding it.

They were all graduating in a few months and all of them with honors and various job offers already. Felicity was currently choosing between, the offers from The Wayne Corporation, Stark Industries and Queen Consolidated.

"Ok, just so we are clear, you are all expected to join us at the Kite and Key Annual Tailgate Party tomorrow at Fenway Park. You had all better be there." Cat's excited voice broke through Felicity's short trip along memory lane and Julie chimed in. "No excuses City, we already excused you from supporting and joining Cat in the Hat this year."

Felicity couldn't help smiling as she replied "Fine, fine, we will tailgate tomorrow. Now come on, let's start heading to Mount Auburn Cemetery. I think Cisco and Ronnie are meeting us there with dinner i.e. burgers from Miracle of Science and if we don't hurry those two will eat all of it."

- -

"Ok, ladies, burgers as requested, grab a blanket and do tell us why we are having this picnic in the middle of the night near what appears to be a fresh grave. Not that were complaining, were not, right Ronnie?" Cisco, waited for his friend Ronnie to say something but rolled his eyes when he saw Ronnie ignore the question altogether and instead pull down his soon to be wife, Caitlin, beside him on the blanket and greeted her.

Cat decided to spare Cisco and give an answer "We are here to test a theory."

In typical Cisco fashion, this only inspired more questions from him. "Ooohhhh theory, what theory? Am good with those, tell me, what are we theorizing?" Noticing the uncomfortable looks among his friends. "Come on guys, why the secrecy? Is it dangerous? NSA, CIA, Bond type danger?"

Felicity decided to just cut him off before he spiraled out of control. "Just relax Cisco, it is not dangerous, I mean, I don't think it is, just make sure to stay with Liz, Fred, Caitlin and Ronnie if something happens, not that I think something will happen...I mean it might not, but if it does...3...2...1"

Cat, seeing a Felicity type babble gaining speed at full force grabbed hold of Felicity's hands and made her look into her eyes to calm her down. "Breathe City...Breathe. You will be fine Cisco, just remember that you need to stay with them and whatever does or doesn't happen, do not panic. All questions will be answered when we are on our way home. Got it?"

Cisco started moving beside Liz and Fred as instructed. "Got it."

The girls were all aware of Felicity's nightmares and dreams as well as her newly acquired skills and powers. Since Felicity said she felt the dreams were true, they decided to help her test her theory and found someone whose death seemed to have been caused by a vampire attack and agreed to stake out his grave to see if he would rise.

If this was true, it would not be the strangest or the most dangerous thing that they have faced as friends. I mean, they already dealt with alien life forms called skins and helped Liz protect her ex-husband and their friends and just before that, they helped stop an assassination attempt on Cat's parents and wound up meeting Vincent, whose DNA was genetically manipulated by the army giving him super strength and enhanced senses. Vincent, was currently watching over Cat's family keeping them safe.

They all had stakes, holy water and crosses and they agreed that Liz would stay close to Fred, Caitlin, Ronnie and Cisco in case she needed to generate a shield to protect them. Julie and Cat, who both had martial arts lessons would only aid Felicity if she is unable to handle the theorized vampire.

After about an hour and a half spent talking about tomorrow's tailgate, the ground covering the fresh grave started to shift and seeing that, the girls started moving into position with Felicity walking toward the grave.

Looking wide-eyed and disbelievingly at the hand which burst from the grave, Cisco started to freak. "Ugh guys, guys, there's, there's...a...hand...there's a hand." Causing Liz, Fred, Caitlin and Ronnie, to hold him down before he started making like a headless chicken.

Felicity took deep breaths and forced herself not to panic as she made sure to do what she saw the girl named Buffy do in her dreams and brought out her stake. As soon as half the guy's body was above ground, Felicity made her move, using her left arm to block his arms and thrust down the stake toward, his chest. Despite the stake in his chest the vampire did not turn into dust and instead fully rose and took out the stake and started moving toward Felicity. "Aww did the blonde gurly gurl miss? That's ok, you and I are gonna have fun and then I am gonna have dinner missy."

Felicity dove toward where the vampire threw the stake and kicked the vampire knocking him down. "I wont make that mistake again and eeeeew perv!" Felicity then straddled him and drove the stake accurately dusting him.

Breaking the silence, Cisco was the first to react. "Was that, a vampire? Like an actual vampire? Lestat? Dracula? Blade? It went poof! And when did you learn to fight them Felicity? This is so cool! Hey wait a minute, why did you tell me to stay by Liz? Do you have powers too, Liz?" Seeing the pained look on Liz's face. "This is so awesome! I mean bad hehe."

Ronnie, coming down from his shock, took out his wallet and pulled out a twenty and handed it to Caitlin. "So Vampires huh? Guess that means you win this bet Hon."

Still looking at the place the vampire was dusted, Felicity shivered and knew that at that point nothing in her life would ever be the same again. "It's true, my dreams, they were true, I'm a Slayer and it is now my responsibility to fight them. Just like Buffy did before she died."

Cat and Julie walked toward Felicity. Speaking first, Julie addressed her. "You wont be alone Felicity. We will be here with you and we will share this responsibility with you."

From the blanket, Liz, Fred and Caitlin looked at one another and Fred spoke out. "You told us Buffy had friends helping her, we have your back City." Liz then added "The same way you have never abandoned us, we wont leave you, were not just friends, we are sisters remember?" Caitlin, after an encouraging nod from Ronnie then spoke. "I mean, we may not be slayers, vampires or witches but were not exactly slouches and we are some of the smartest people in the country, if not the world, so were in for sure. Plus, just try and keep Cisco away." At that they could not help but laugh and hearing them, Cisco objected. "Hey! Ok, maybe that's true. Oh screw it, of course it is. I want in!"

Cat, noting the consensus, "This is also our fight. What do you want to do now City?"

Felicity, grateful for the support of her friends searched her memories and looked at her friends. "We do what they did, we research all that we are up against, train and prepare and then when we are ready, we set up nightly patrols to keep the area safe, I guess. I don't have a Watcher for some reason so we will need to do the studying and the research ourselves. We will also need to find a dojo or something where we can train."


	5. Chapter 5 - Hitting The Ground Running

Author's Note: I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I do apologize since I know it takes me a bit of time in between updates. I try to do as much research as possible and aside from that I find it hard to do this kind of writing on demand.

My brain already knows how this story will go and this is Felicity's story, or at least how I would have liked her story to go.

This chapter is still part of the flashback and we still have a bit more to go before we go back to the present.

Aside from studying martial arts as an adolescent, I have no experience fighting or sparring but have tried my best to review, research and study them again with the time available to me.

Remember that is an AU so if it clashes with your memories or how the shows went, it is supposed to since it is how I want to see things.

Thanks again for reading and for being kind.

Disclaimers: I still don't own the characters from The Arrow, BTVS, The Flash, Angel, Roswell, Beauty And The Beast, etc., along with the songs used as backdrops for this story. Images used are taken from the net, except the edits or the collages I made using images found online.

**Chapter 5 - Hitting The Ground Running**

_Cause he's stronger than you know. A heart of steel starts to grow. When you've been fighting for it all your life, you've been struggling to make things right, that's how a superhero learns how to fly. Every day, every hour, turn the pain into power. When you've been fighting for it all your life, you've been working every day and night, that's how a superhero learns how to fly. Every day, every hour, turn the pain into power. -__**Superheroes by The Script-**_

The weeks following their night at Mt. Auburn Cemetery proved to be both tiring and demanding, yet they showed no signs of wavering and were all filled with a renewed sense of purpose. None of them believed that they were part of Felicity's life because of coincidence. Just as it was sadly her destiny to be called as a Slayer, they felt that life had placed them in her life because they were meant to make a difference this way.

While no one was expected to stop living their own lives, Caitlin and Ronnie would still be getting married after they graduated, they would also be getting jobs in different companies, different states even, pursuing their own dreams and yet despite all this, there was an underlying commitment among them, that no matter what they do decide or where they ended up, they would all find a way to be there for her.

Felicity, knew that she was very fortunate to have them all in her life. From her dreams, she knew that most slayers were expected to live lonely and solitary lives. Buffy, changed that. She truly lived her life, had a life out of slaying, fell in love, had relationships and she had friends. Though she saw that Willow and Xander, had flaws and that Xander had a tendency to be extremely judgmental and narrow-minded when it came to who Buffy loved, there was friendship there as well as a degree of loyalty.

Despite how sadly their relationship had ended, Felicity also felt that Buffy and Angel truly loved one another and theirs was the real kind of love. Much like the love between Ronnie and Caitlin, as well as the one that seemed to be developing between Vincent and Cat, it was the kind of love that, if you were lucky enough to find it, you grabbed it, held it close and never let it go.

Her friends, her love for Angel had allowed Buffy to keep fighting for as long as she did and Felicity vowed to follow her example, not in the letting her friends make her feel bad part, cause her friends who rule BTW, would never do that ever, but in having a life and wanting more than just slaying.

Her friends made the obligations of being a slayer a lot lighter just by being a part of her life and it is because of them that she knew that no matter what she faced, things would work out in the end, cause if not then at that point, it really was the end of the line, you know, the knocking on heaven's door type, asking St. Peter to check and see if your name is in the Book of Life type end.

They were on their way to the dojo for their advanced class with Sensei Susan and she was looking forward to it, especially since it means she would get to spar and burn off some of her excess energy. One thing she quickly learned about being a Slayer was that she always had excess energy to burn that went hand in hand with a huge appetite for food as well as something else she would rather not openly discuss.

She looked fondly at her friends and she recognized how many changes they made to help her.

They had developed a schedule to help put them in a better position to be able to help her and defend themselves. They reasoned that she must be able to focus when they patrol and she wont be able to do that if she is too busy looking out for all of them.

Julie and Cat used their trust funds and purchased a 2 storey house at 28 Seven Star Lane, Concord, near Harvard Square, and they later convinced all of them to move in so that they could have a base of operations of sorts.

They converted the basement into a workout room where they could spar and practice and turned the library into what Cisco referred to as operation central, with books on the occult and computers.

Since they refused to let any of them pay rent, they all pooled the money they would normally spend on rent to buy equipment to make patrol easier and more efficient. Steel toed boots, kick ass clothing, tricked out cameras, monitors and comms were just the beginning.

Early in the morning they would jog along Harvard Square to build endurance.

Recognizing that the things they would be up against would be a lot stronger than any of them, they even started weight training. While they knew it would take time before it made any difference they decided to start doing it anyway since it would help them in the long run.

They also took up a mixed martial arts class for krav maga and jeet kune do at a nearby dojo with Felicity.

They picked krav maga because their research indicated that not only is it said to be the most lethal form of martial art, it is also relatively easy to learn, and added jeet kune do since it supposedly teaches a fighter to be unpredictable and adapt to an opponent's fighting style.

Their lunch breaks between classes were now split between actual eating and sparring so that they could all learn faster.

Arriving at the dojo, they headed directly to the locker rooms to change into their uniforms and prepare for class with Sensei Carolyn little knowing that tonight would open yet another avenue for their group.

All their hard work seemed to have paid off since it brought them to the attention of Carolyn Woosan, one of the two owners of the dojo where they took their classes. She co-owned the . Both sisters were undeniably beautiful, they had an ethereal quality to them with porcelain like skin and silky black hair.

Both sisters were renowned martial arts practitioners but Susan was considered a protege because of her ability to learn and master martial arts quickly.

Carolyn, their Sensei, taught most of the students of the dojo while Susan only took on students when she encounters individuals or groups that she feels have the talent, skill and perseverance to actually survive class with her.

Heading onto the mats where class is conducted, they were surprised and more than a little intimidated seeing Susan Woosan there.

-8-

_Tranquil as a forest but on fire within. Once you find your center, you are sure to win. You're a spineless, pale, pathetic lot, and you haven't got a clue. Somehow i'll make a man out of you. I'm never gonna catch my breath. Say goodbye to those who knew me. Boy, was I a fool for cutting gym. This guy's got them scared to death. Hope he doesn't see right through me. Now I really wish that I knew how to swim. BE A MAN. We must be swift as a coursing river. BE A MAN. With all the force of a great typhoon. BE A MAN. With all the strength of a raging fire. Mysterious as the dark side of the moon. - __**I'll Make A Man Out Of You from Mulan **_

Sensei Carolyn, had noticed how hard they all worked in learning and mastering the lessons in her class.

While not all of them had the capacity to become masters, she felt that they all showed the willingness and determination required of true martial arts practitioners.

Feeling that they would benefit more from her sister's tutelage, she invited Susan to sit in and observe them during class to see if she would be willing to take them on as students with her.

Class was conducted in its usual matter. Sensei Carolyn paired them off, Ronnie and Cisco, being the only guys in their group were paired together, Liz with Fred, Cat with Julie and Felicity with Caitlin and they sparred using the things they learned the previous classes, followed by a demonstration from their Sensei on the punches, kicks, blocks and combinations they were learning that day before they were again paired off to practice and spar while their Sensei observed and gave corrections or praise.

Throughout the class, Susan observed all of them, especially Felicity. She noted that out of the group, Robbie, Cat, Julie and Felicity showed the most promise. She also noticed that Felicity was holding back, she sparred well, brilliantly even, but she was conscious enough to control the force behind her punches, hits and kicks.

Susan had an inkling that there must be a story behind it, a seemingly innocent and petite girl, capable of wielding enough strength to make the moves devastatingly lethal. She then motioned to Carolyn and asked her to spar with all of them individually so she can properly evaluate their skill levels.

Sensei Carolyn gave the group a few more minutes to spar and then called their attention, asking them to form a large circle and sit down on the mats. She then called them one by one to take their turns and spar with her using the moves that they had already learned.

Cisco was called first. Carolyn moved really quickly and while Cisco was able to block most of her hits, he was unfortunately unable to go on the offensive and as a result Sensei Carolyn was finally able to get through his defense and caught him in a chokehold.

Liz was next. She was able to block most of our Sensei's hits as well as try and land a few kicks and punches before she miscalculated on one of her jabs allowing Sensei to make a grab for her arm and twist it against her back.

Fred blocked Sensei's hits and managed to land a few jabs but she was unable to land critical hits. She was trying to break through Sensei's defense when our Sensei managed to block one of her kicks and send a jab making her lose her balance and fall to the mat where Sensei was able to lock her in a grapple hold.

Caitlin was able to land a lot of hits that would have been critical but she lacked the power or force necessary to slow down Sensei who kept on going on the offensive and was inevitably able to land several hits that forced her to the edge of the mat.

Ronnie, started out strong, landing hits and getting Sensei to yield some ground. At some point though, he might have gotten a bit overconfident and underestimated Sensei's strength, allowing her to keep him on the floor in a hold that proved unbreakable for him.

Julie landed more than a few critical hits but took too many. risks so she also got hit a a few times. Throughout the exercise I noticed that Sensei was holding back and limiting herself to testing our mastery of the past lessons. Julie showed that she understood and had a good grasp of what we had learned so far. It was only when Sensei started adding new elements that Julie faltered and was unable to completely adjust in time, allowing Sensei to push her off the mat.

Cat, like Julie showed that she had a good grasp of our previous lessons. Unlike Julie though she was a bit more careful so she took fewer hits and landed more critical hits against Sensei. She was however taken down to the mat and put in a hold when Sensei added a few combinations and not just new kicks or jabs. She was taken by surprise and much like Julie, she found herself unable to fully adapt and hit back.

It was finally my turn. I started just blocking and studying how Sensei moved. I also made a mental note to watch how much force or power i used. Finally seeing an opening i blocked Sensei's uppercut and landed an oblique side kick, then hung back, waiting for Sensei to strike so I can block, counter and strike back as we had been taught. As good as Sensei was, the vampires I fought were a lot faster and stronger, lacking any artistry. It is thus easier for me to study and counter a human opponent, no matter how skilled, I think.

When Sensei started switching her moves and adding combinations, I knew enough to stay calm, block, counter and try adding elements coming from moves I knew instinctually as a slayer and some from watching tv or even movies.

While watching Sensei, I noticed that she dropped her shoulder before attacking, allowing me to predict where her moves would come from and leaving her vulnerable to more hits, allowing me to finally kick her off the mat, winning the match.

Sensei got up and bowed towards me so I bowed back in response and then we all moved back to our positions on the mat thinking we would be getting a new lesson.

Sensei started moving to the front "You have made me

very proud. You all showed that you have at the very least a working knowledge of the lessons I have given you and some of you have even showed a level of mastery not normally seen in relatively new students. I invited my sister, Susan, to observe and evaluate your skills today. Sister, would you be so kind as to give my students your evaluation."

Susan then started walking and looking at each of them before speaking. "When my sister told me about this class, I was thinking that she may have been exaggerating. But having had the chance to observe you against her, I can see that she was telling the truth. While not all of you have a natural affinity toward martial arts, I see in your group the determination and discipline needed to become true practitioners. Krav maga and jeet kune do have one thing in common, they both require dynamism and adaptability. Jeet kune do is even described as a style with no style for that reason, there are no katas and each practitioner is encouraged to develop their own style across other disciplines. To be effective, you must be like the coursing water, able to take on the shape or color required to adapt and respond to the moves of an opponent. Cisco, you need to keep practicing until your body can defend itself through instinct, until every movement becomes natural. You must learn to stop hesitating as in a life or death fight, your opponent will not hesitate to end your life. Liz, Caitlin and Fred, you need to work on building more upper and lower body strength to give more force and power to your moves. Ronnie, you must learn not to underestimate your opponent. There is no place for hubris in martial arts. Julie, you must learn to be less reckless and take only calculated risks. Learn to view fights holistically so you can properly evaluate how to proceed. Cat, you must learn to keep your composure and become dynamic. You must learn to read your opponents so that you are never again taken totally by surprise. Felicity, you are capable of much more and beginning today we will teach you a more intensive course from more disciplines if you are willing to learn. If you are all willing both my sister and I will be your Senseis and I will be primarily in charge of teaching you Felicity. Make no mistake, I am a harsh taskmaster, but if you all keep displaying the same perseverance and determination I have seen today, we will ensure that you all learn more and become effective martial arts practitioners, able to defend yourselves and those you love. The question is, are you willing to rise to this challenge?"

Taking the time to look at each of my friends to make sure we were all in the same page, I took a deep breath and addressed both of our Senseis. "We are deeply honored and accept your challenge." Things were bound to get more interesting for sure.


End file.
